Public and Media Opinion
A 2010 survey of C-SPAN's viewers found that the network's most-valued attribute was its balanced programming. The survey's respondents were a mixed group, with 31 percent describing themselves as "liberal," while 28 percent described themselves as "conservative", and the survey found that C-SPAN viewers are an equal mixture of men and women of all age groups.
C-SPAN's public service nature has been praised as an enduring contribution to national knowledge. The network has received positive media coverage for providing public access to proceedings such as the Goldman Sachs Senate hearings and the U.S. 2010 Healthcare Summit, while its everyday programming has been credited with providing the media and the general public with an intimate knowledge of U.S. political proceedings and people. The ability of C-SPAN to provide this service without federal funding, advertising or soliciting viewer contributions has been remarked by local newspapers and online news services, with the Huffington Post terming C-SPAN's $55 million dollar annual budget, "an astounding bargain." In an article on the 25th anniversary of the network, The Washington Post noted that C-SPAN's programming has been copied by television networks worldwide and credits the network with providing information about foreign politics to American viewers. According to The New York Times, C-SPAN's mission to record official events in Washington makes it "one of a kind", particularly in the creation of the C-SPAN Video Library, which received significant press coverage.
Despite its stated commitment to providing politically balanced programming, C-SPAN and its shows such as Washington Journal, Booknotes, Q & A, and Afterwords have been accused by liberal organizations of having a conservative bias. During 2005, the media criticism organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) released a study of C-SPAN's morning telephone call-in show Washington Journal, showing that Republicans were favored as guests over Democrats by a two-to-one margin during a six-month period that year, and that people of color are underrepresented.
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